On 9 December 1463, an Anglo-Scottish truce was agreed upon. In late 1463 the political situation in Scotland changed. Mary of Gueldres died. It had been the Dowager Queen who, as head of the Regency Council, had agreed with terms with Margaret of Anjou. Those terms had promised, and delivered, military assistance to the Lancastrian cause in return for the handover to Scotland of the border town of Berwick.

Scottish support for the Lancastrians

This military assistance had extended beyond the Lancastrians defeat at Towton. They supplied and supported the Lancastrian enclave on the Northumbrian coast and were willing to accept senior Lancastrians into Scotland for safety.

A lost cause?

By the time Mary died, many Scottish lords were weary of the continued support for King Henry VI and Queen Margaret. The cause seemed irretrievably lost and the expense of the ongoing support was hard to justify as there would be little, bar Berwick which had already been ceded, in return.

Link: Berwick ceded to Scotland by Margaret of Anjou

The interventuon of Scots on behalf of the Lancastrian enclave in the north east had faced problems. Not only were attempts to relieve coastal castles lsrgely ineffective but in July 1463 an attempt to seize Norham Castle [pictured at top of post via Wikipedia[ was a total fsilure. Scottish involvement was costly, and bringing little success.

Anglo-Scottish Truce, December 1463

With the political climate changing, Edward IV sought to bring an end to the Scots’ support to the Lancastrians. A formal treaty would be discussed and agreed upon in 1464. In the interim, both nations agreed to a truce to last until those treaty negotiations were concluded via the 1464 Treaty of York.